Despite doubts cast on its influence over the global economy, the Group of Eight will remain a key framework to guide the world out of the economic downturn, one of Japan's top coordinators for the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, said Wednesday.

In fact, the meeting next week in central Italy must showcase the G8 members' capabilities.

"The G8 needs to show its leadership and demonstrate a vision to the rest of the world," Yoichi Suzuki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Economic Affairs Bureau, told The Japan Times on Wednesday.